Tech Update

First collaborating in 2018, Identify3D and SLM Solutions NA, Inc. have expanded their cooperation, resulting in products for securing intellectual property (IP) in the additive manufacturing (AM) process chain. Identify3D software includes modules to protect, manage, enforce and trace data between design and creation on selective laser melting machines from SLM Solutions NA, Inc. Data are secured in encrypted files, defending against counterfeit procedures and the loss of IP, and offering owners traceability of their designs as well as the transparency in knowing who is utilizing the files. Qualified processes are locked to limit operator error and ensure compliance, repeatability and quality control. “ Identify3D software integrates into users’ current workflows but offers a new level of process security,” says Stephan Thomas, Identify3D co-founder and chief strategy officer. “Manufacturers can implement different strategies to limit the number of times a part can be printed, set an expiration date on the design and automatically delete files from machines after a build. Validity checks allow an audit of the design throughout the selective laser melting process.”Says Dr. Gereon Heinemann, chief technology officer of SLM Solutions Group AG: “SLM Solutions recognizes the trend as additive transforms manufacturing into a digital workflow. By working together with Identify3D, we aim to offer users not only robust manufacturing systems, but a strategy to integrate both security and traceability, which are essential elements to production manufacturing processes.” SLM Solutions NA, Inc. will be exhibiting and presenting at AMUG 2019, March 31-April 4 in Chicago, IL.